Ted Walsh thrilled to see Willie and Patrick Mullins join elite club

Ted Walsh believes Willie Mullins will never top the feeling of saddling the Randox Grand National winner for his son Patrick.

Patrick guided Nick Rockett at Aintree to lead home a one-two-three for the master of Closutton, with defending champion I Am Maximus the runner-up and stablemate Grangeclare West third. Meetingofthewaters in fifth gave Mullins four of the top five finishers.

Walsh trained Papillon to win the race 25 years with his own son Ruby in the saddle, just a year after Tommy and Paul Carberry had achieved the feat with BobbyJo.

Walsh said: “It was a huge thing. You only realise how big it is to Willie when you’ve been there yourself. There’s no other feeling like it.

“Anybody who is a parent, the enjoyment that you get out of your offspring doing really well, whether it is passing their exams, or getting married or their first child or whatever it is, it’s a huge thing.

“The big thing is you’re responsible for it, he produced the horse and everything else. Willie would have got a great kick if Patrick had ridden the winner for somebody else, but the fact he has done it for him is something a little bit more special.”

Walsh can still remember the celebrations from Papillon’s success as if it was yesterday – and how it was a special occasion for everybody involved.

He added: “(I can remember) every inch of it. I can recall it by the hour. I know everything we did, the celebrations in the village.

“All the relations, all the friends, all the cousins, all the pals, everybody was involved, everybody was here, everybody celebrated, everybody.

“All Ruby’s friends, (children) Ted’s friends, Jennifer’s friends, Katie’s friends, my close relations, my friends, (wife) Helen’s family and friends, everybody that was connected and it will be the same way with the Mullins’.

“You’ve all the Dorans, (Willie’s mother) Maureen Mullins was a Doran. She has two or three brothers. They’ll all have cousins of Willie’s. Every one of them and their friends, pals. It touches everybody. Everybody just goes to it, everybody.

“It’s a unique occasion and it’s just magical. It doesn’t happen that often in racing and when it does, it’s magic. The Carberrys, Paul and Tommy there in Ratoath.

“You can’t put it into words, it’s just a wonderful, wonderful feeling. Words don’t describe it, when you look back at it, it’ll go for years. It’s just that great occasion. It goes on forever.

“It’s very hard to top that. You can repeat it, but to top it? I would say it’s unlikely.

“The Grand National is the most famous jumps race in the world and he’s won it and he’s trained the winner and his son has ridden it. It’s a huge thing for both of them.”

Mullins’ success on Merseyside has put him in pole position to retain his British trainers’ title, with bookmakers making him the odds-on favourite to be champion again when the season ends at Sandown on April 26.

But Walsh feels that will not touch the joy from the National.

He added: “That won’t give him near the enjoyment he got yesterday.

“That will be satisfaction for him and it’ll be a great achievement if he does it again, but that’s something that you write into the record books. This is something that will stay with him for the rest of his life.

“I was lucky enough to be successful as an amateur, but I look back on the days with Papillon and Ruby on him as the greatest day in my sporting life.”